The climbing community is small, close and global. I recieved an email from Paula Stout who was the basecamp Manager for the 2005 Everest Climbing for a Cure Expedition and worked closely with Apa Sherpa’s Asian Trekking team. She had recieved a phone call from Lhakpa Nuru “Gelek” Sherpa (Thame) after she tried to find out if Apa was involved in the accident. He was quite involed and here is what Lhakpa told Paula:

"There were a dozen or so Sherpas moving across the line. Apparently, it happened very suddenly. They heard a crack, then ice and debris started coming down. Lhakpa Tshering was in front of him and Dawa Temba was behind him. They both fell down. Our Lhakpa was partially buried by the snow, but was able to dig out. Other Sherpas, including his “cousin-brother from AAI” helped him down to base camp.

He went to the medical tent and checked out okay. His oxygen levels were fine, he has some bruising, but it should heal...they gave him some medicine for stress and shock that made him sleep last night. He woke up Saturday morning Nepal time) and Will Cross graciously let him use the sat phone to “call home to the .

”Although he couldn’t remember a lot of the details, he said it was very scary and that he can’t explain why he was the one to survive. The person in front of him is “lost” and the person behind him is “lost.” But, he is okay. He kept repeating, “If I had taken one step more or one step less, I would be lost, too.”